Wanna Go Home
by cncgrad02
Summary: When Zac and Vanessa are seperated by an ocean, how do they still stay close? One shot inspired by pictures and music Michael Buble's "Home", to be exact . Zanessa


***SIGH* This is a small something that just popped into my head the other night. After seeing the pictures of Zac as he was leaving LAX the other day and hearing a certain song on my ipod on my way home from work last night... my imagination took over. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about "Pictures". I will actually post the next chapter soon. I just had to get this mental picture out of my head before it overtook everything inside! It's short, but sweet just the same. I plan on it being only a 1-shot, but who knows what the future holds? We'll see!**

**I own nothing. Not the song, not the hotel, not the characters... just the idea. I hope yall enjoy!**

The sleek black limousine pulled up in front of the Royal Barriere hotel in Deauville, France, and the driver got out to open the door for it's occupant in the back while the person sitting in the passenger's let herself out. Gina Hoffman stood on the sidewalk taking in the view of the massive hotel and waited while Zac climbed out. He came and stood next to her and adjusted his sunglasses while their chauffeur retrieved their bags.

"What's going through your mind?" she asked him without looking at him. She knew her client well enough to know when he had something on his mind at that particular moment.

Zac simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Or would the proper question be '_who_' is going through your mind?" Gina asked with a slight smirk as she looked at him for the first time since they escaped the confines of the car. Zac lowered his sunglasses and turned his gaze to look at his publicist trying hard to hide his blush behind his growing beard.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked, trying to play it cool.

"Zac, you're an open book when it comes to Vanessa. Have you talked to her since we landed?"

Zac glanced at his watch and quickly did the math. "Gina, it's 3:15 am in LA. I'll call her when I get in the room. There's no need to wake her up twice."

"Well, then, let's go get checked in. I tried to get us rooms at least on the same floor. We'll see how successful I was."

"Gina, I adore you. You're an amazing publicist, but seriously? How successful have you ever been at getting us rooms on the same floor?"

"Point taken," she agreed. "Come on," she said as she nudged him with her elbow, "let's go in." She started the climb up the steps toward the door that led into the lobby while Zac tipped the driver and followed suit.

As he waited patiently waiting on Gina to check them in and get their room assignments, Zac took a few moments to look around and fully appreciate the beauty of the hotel- his home for the next two days before leaving France and heading to Madrid, Spain, for the rest of his European promotional tour for _Charlie St. Cloud_. He walked around the lobby and took notice of the arched doorways, the crystal chandeliers, the dark oak walls, the magnificent black grand piano, the marble floors and columns… Only one thought kept repeating itself in his mind: _Vanessa would really love this place._

"You ready?" Gina asked, as she approached him and broke his reverie, bringing him back to reality.

"Yeah, let's go." Zac held out his hand and Gina handed him his room information. The two of them then picked up their carry on bags and found the mirrored elevators.

Once they held their plastic key cards in the palms of their hands, Zac and Gina made their way in the direction of the elevators. As Zac pushed seven, he turned to face Gina.

"What floor?" he asked her, pushing the five button when she answered. Once Gina exited the elevator, she turned to her client and looked at her watch while Zac held a hand in front of the door to keep it open.

"Zac, it's 12:20 now. Let's meet in two hours at Le Cote Royal downstairs? 2:30? That should give you some time to relax a bit."

"Sounds good, I'll see you then." As the doors closed again, Zac leaned back against the wall of the elevator while he rode it up the next two floors. Finally reaching the seventh floor, he picked up his duffle bag and exited the elevator. Pausing to study the golden plates on the walls, he quickly found his way to room number 717 and let himself in using his key card.

Throwing his bag onto the bed, he located the door to the balcony and opened it, amazed by the view of the English Channel just outside. He walked to the railing of the balcony and leaned forward with his forearms resting on the iron structure. He folded his hands in front of him and allowed the breeze to blow through his hair as he was taken aback to another time and another place. A time and place when a certain Filipino brunette was with him.

_The two of them had been traveling non-stop for the 'High School Musical 3' promotional tour. Despite the fact that they had been approached about staying in separate rooms to up hold the Disney image and they almost were forced to agree, they still found ways around spending time together. _

"_Our contracts say separate rooms, but they don't say anything about not having connecting rooms," he pointed out during one of their many business meetings, leaving the Disney to wonder how they missed that loophole and they merely shook their heads in disbelief as they agreed._

"_Fine," the CEO spoke up. "Connecting rooms, but they will have single beds," he said with a raised eyebrow in warning._

"_Sounds good to us," Zac agreed. And it was done._

_They were in Paris, standing on the balcony of Zac's room with the door connecting their two rooms open. Vanessa stood in front of Zac, with his arms wrapped tightly around her petite waist. They were taking in the view of the Eiffel Tower, all lit up at night. He found himself getting swept up in the atmosphere of the City of Love and was enjoying the feel of her in his arms. He would lean down every so often to place gentle kisses on her neck. The young couple was whispering sweet nothings to each other, loving their rare moment together._

Suddenly a horn honking on the street below him caused Zac's daydream to vanish with the breeze. Letting out a deep, lonely sigh, Zac reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone, checking the time and doing the math quickly. It didn't take but a few seconds before he heard the familiar ring back tone echo in his ear, and he couldn't help but smile sadly. The two of them had a pact that every time one of them was traveling, they would change the tones of their phones to one song in particular. A song that would remind them of where they came from and who they belonged to in their hearts.

All the way across the Channel and still another continent, Vanessa's phone sounded with Michael Buble's voice from the bedside table.

_"...may be surrounded by a million people I still feel all alone, just wanna go home. I miss you, you know. And I've been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you, each one a line or two: 'I'm fine baby, how are you?'..." _

Vanessa leaned over and answered the singing device without checking the caller id.

"_You made it,"_ she greeted him, her voice groggy from the comforts of her sleep having been disturbed.

"I woke you up," he responded.

"_I don't care. I thought you'd know that by now. I'd rather you wake me up than not call at all."_

"Van, you need your rest. You've got the cancer telethon tonight."

_"I'm going back to sleep when we hang up. Besides, I don't have to be there until 1, so that means I can sleep in."_

"I wish I could be there with you," he admitted sullenly.

_"I wish you could be, too, but you need to be where you are right now. You did your part with the PSA and everyone understands why you can't be there this time. It's not your fault; you didn't make the promo schedule," _she told him, trying to make him feel better about not being there to show his support in finding a cure for cancer.

"I know, but-" Zac began to argue with her reasoning, but was instantly cut off. He could tell that she was trying to change the topic of conversation. The two of them had a routine that their first phone call typically followed, and Vanessa was trying to get to that routine before she fell back asleep while on the phone with her boyfriend.

"_How long have you been in the room?"_ she asked, starting the long standing tradition.

He smiled, knowing exactly what she was doing. "About five minutes," he admitted.

She released an exaggerated gasp. The two of them had had this conversation so many times, that they could play it back in their sleep if they needed. _"Five minutes? Zachary David Alexander Efron! You've been in the room five minutes already and you're just now calling me? What have you been doing? Unpacking?"_

"Now, Babe, I thought you knew me better than that! Why would I unpack when I can live out of my suitcase?" he asked with a chuckle. If he closed his eyes, he could just imagine Vanessa laying in bed, with the phone up to her ear as she mindlessly played with a stray curl- twirling it around the index finger of her right hand- with Shadow laying at her feet.

She let a small smile grace her girlish features as she responded. _"That's true. Why would you unpack; I'm not there to do it for you!" _

"I'm cut, Van. That cut me deep."

"_Then what were you doing for those five minutes?" _she asked, feigning annoyance.

Zac paused, knowing that they always said this line in unison, ending the 'routine' that they created several years ago. He took a deep breath, signaling to her that he was ready for their final line together. She picked up on his nonverbal cue and opened her mouth at the same time and lowered her voice to mimic his tone.

"I had to pee!"

"_I had to pee!" _The two laughed at their corniness.

"_Are we pathetic?" _she asked, changing the topic of conversation.

"Why? Because we have our routine?"

"_Yeah."_

"Yeah." The two paused for a laugh, both sighing- Zac's out of misery over being alone and Vanessa out of fatigue. Zac picked up on her tired sigh and continued.

"You'd better go back to sleep, Aurora," he told her, using his nickname for his _Sleeping Beauty._ She reminded him of a Filipino Princess Aurora and he often reminded her of that fact when they were laying in bed together.

"_I miss you," _she said in a soft voice.

"God, Baby. I miss you way too much."

"_I'll talk to you soon,"_ she told him.

"Good night, Baby. I love you," he told her softly.

"_Good night, Baby Boo. I love you, too."_ Vanessa reluctantly hung up the phone and rolled over in her big, empty bed and grabbed hold of Zac's pillow, pulling it tight against her body and throwing her leg over it. It wasn't long before she found herself back asleep, dreaming of Zac laying right next to her.

Back in France, Zac hung up his own phone and checked the time once more.

_12:45_, he noticed. _Plenty of time for a short nap. _He set the alarm on his phone for 2:10 and laid down on the bed. It didn't take long before he was quickly dreaming of his girlfriend- who he knew to be cuddling his pillow, burrowed deep under her covers- back in her home in Studio City, California.


End file.
